Listening to the Sound of Silence
by cardcaptor-kanna
Summary: Hana Yamagi is a third-year student in the music department at Seiso Academy and one of the participants in the school's musical competition. She's the first handicapped student with a condition that continues to keep popping up at the most random of times. How is she going to survive? Either Yunoki/OC or Tsuchiura/OC


**A/N: I'm in a disabilities class right now for my major at university, and wanted to see where I could go with writing about a character where her disability majorly impacts what she does. So, without further ado, let's begin!**

 **kanna does not own La Corda d'Oro. You know who it belongs to.**

* * *

The lights in the living room flashed as they indicated someone was at the door. Hana Yamagi sighed and pushed a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear as she wheeled her way to the door and opened it. "Ms. Yamagi?" the person at the door asked. It looked to be a mailman.

"Yes," Hana replied hesitantly.

"Package for you." The mailman held out a big box that wasn't going to fit into Hana's lap as she sat on her wheelchair. "If you could just sign it for me, I can help you carry it in." Hana nodded as she took the clipboard and pen from the mailman and signed her name for the delivery. The mailman carried the box into the house and put it down.

"Thanks," Hana said as the mailman started to leave. Hana held her head in her hand as she felt a headache come on. "I'm not feeling very well, so if you could..."

The rest of the sentence was unfinished, but the mailman took the hint. He nodded as he left the house and shut the door behind him. Hana grunted as she tried to ignore the pain and dizziness she felt. For once, she was thankful not to be standing. The pain eventually disappeared, as did the dizziness. Hana shook her head and smiled. "All right," she said to herself as she wheeled herself to the kitchen to get a knife to open the box, "let's see if what I need for the new school year came in the mail."

After getting the knife, she wheeled back into the living room and cut into the tape on the box. She grunted as she cut. The tape seemed to be pretty strong. Within a few minutes, however, she was able to cut through the tape and open the box. Upon opening it all the way and discovering its contents, she smiled to herself. An electric wheelchair and a charger. "Just in time for the new school year," Hana thought to herself.

She plugged the new wheelchair in so it could charge overnight before she wheeled herself to the kitchen to make herself some curry. After she put the ingredients in the pot and put the stove on, she wheeled back into the living room and decided to see how the new chair felt. She hoisted herself into it with a little difficulty. "This is going to be a pain," she muttered. "Why did I order this again? Oh, right; so I could get around without too much assistance from anyone. I don't want to be pitied because I can't walk."

Hana hoisted herself back into her regular wheelchair. "This is going to take some practice," she thought to herself. She wheeled herself back into the kitchen to find that the curry was all ready. She turned the stove off and quickly prepared some rice in silence. Once her dinner was made, she grabbed a tray from the kitchen counter and placed it on her lap. She put the curry on the tray and wheeled herself to the dining room. She looked through some CDs of classical music before she picked one she liked and put it in the CD player. She hit the play button before she wheeled herself to the table and put her tray on it. "Let's eat," she sighed to herself as she took a spoonful of food and ate it. "Not bad."

After dinner was finished and cleaned up, Hana pressed the stop button on the CD player and wheeled herself into her room as she looked through her closet for Seisou Academy's music department's uniform. She smiled to herself. Tomorrow was the first day of her third year at Seisou Academy, but her first time competing in the concours. She was determined to do well, despite her setbacks. "Time to go to bed early," she said to herself. "Big day tomorrow."

* * *

Upon arrival at Seisou Academy, the first thing Hana heard were the whispers. Hana didn't have a ton of friends before she was confined to a wheelchair, and clearly, the new wheelchair drew too much attention. Not the good kind of attention.

She sighed as she pushed the lever that allowed the wheelchair to keep moving forward. In a tote bag attached to one of the arms of the wheelchair were her books, and sitting in a basket on the back of the wheelchair was her instrument, a flute, in its case. She wheeled herself to the headmaster's office, as she was unsure of what room the third year students were supposed to be in.

Hana stopped her chair once she arrived and sighed to herself. She was about to enter the office when someone kicked the back of her chair so hard that she fell off and onto the floor. Her lower jaw collided with her upper jaw as Hana rubbed her the spot where it hurt. "Perfect," she sighed to herself.

"Any particular reason why you decided to kick me to the ground?" she asked.

"You're a retard. That's reason enough in my book. Why are you here, anyway? You need to be normal to be able to be here." the boy who pushed her said.

"Leave her alone, Yamamoto," another boy said. He was tall and wore the school's general education uniform. "Who are you to define what normal is, anyway? If anything, you're the retard for knocking someone with a handicap to the ground."

"Whatever. Wait until my father hears we have a retard in our school," the boy called Yamamoto jeered as he walked away.

Hana's rescuer sighed before he turned to face her. "You all right?" he asked. He picked Hana up - much to her surprise - and put her back in her wheelchair. "I'm Tsuchiura, by the way. Ryotaro Tsuchiura."

"I'm Yamagi. Hana Yamagi. Nice to meet you. I was looking for the headmaster's office, because I'm not sure what room the third year music department students are supposed to be in and was hoping he could show me. Hana looked at her watch. "I'm already late as is, thanks to that Yamamoto guy. This stupid wheelchair is drawing too much attention, and not the good kind." She grunted as she felt another headache coming on.

"Everything all right?" Tsuchiura asked.

Hana grunted as she held her head in her hand. "I'm fine," she lied. "This happens all the time." Tsuchiura opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say more, but closed it when he decided that some things were better left unsaid. The headache quickly went away.

"Ah, Miss Yamagi," the headmaster said as he walked out of his office. "How can I help you? Tsuchiura, go to class." Tsuchiura nodded and turned the other way to walk to class.

"I was hoping you could point me in the direction of where the third year music department students are supposed to be," Hana said.

"Certainly, Miss Yamagi," the headmaster replied. "Just go straight and turn right at the corner. It's the first door on the left. You're in class 3-B. I've asked someone to come and help you with your things, but apparently-"

"Sorry I'm late, headmaster," another boy said as he walked into the headmaster's office. This one was also tall, but he had unusually long hair for a boy. He wore the music department's uniform. "I'm here to help Miss Yamagi with her things."

"Perfect timing, Yunoki. Miss Yamagi, this is Azuma Yunoki. He's one of your classmates and also entering the concours. He'll be helping you with your things."

"Every day?" Hana asked incredulously.

"Is there a problem with that, Miss Yamagi?"

"I'm not a charity case. I'm not someone to be pitied just because I'm in a wheelchair and can't walk. All I wanted was someone to show me where class 3-B was. I-" Hana got cut off by another headache, only this one was accompanied by ringing in her ears that muffled the surrounding sound.

"Miss Yamagi?" Yunoki asked with concern.

Hana grunted and held her head in pain. This headache just wasn't going away like the others did. Was today it? "Maybe you should take her to the nurse's office instead of the classroom, Yunoki," the headmaster said. Yunoki nodded and pushed Hana's wheelchair in the direction of the nurse's office. Hana couldn't hear her surroundings over the ringing in her ears, but she tilted her head back and closed her eyes in an attempt to make the headache go away.

Upon arrival at the nurse's office, the nurse took one look at Hana and thanked Yunoki for bringing Hana to the office. She could see Hana's face was scrunched up in pain. The nurse instructed Yunoki to wait outside in the hall before she closed the door behind him. "Did you take your medicine today?" the nurse asked.

"I take it every day, three times a day, just like the doctor says," Hana grunted.

"Just keep breathing. Keep your head back and eyes closed. Try to relax. Think calm thoughts. Try to get your mind off of how you feel."

Hana did as instructed, and after a few minutes, the ringing in her ears stopped and the headache went away. She sighed in relief. The nurse was the only one who knew of her condition, and Hana wanted to keep it that way. The idea of someone with Hana's condition competing in the concours could be enough to get her disqualified. She couldn't afford for anyone aside from the school nurse to know about her condition. "Can I go to class now?" Hana asked.

The nurse took a look at Hana's file and sighed. "Hana, someone with your condition-"

"I'm fine," Hana said truthfully. "Really. You know this happens all the time."

The nurse sighed again. "Fine," she said. "You can go. But if anything like this happens again, I want Yunoki or another student from 3-B to take you back here."

"Why Yunoki? It's bad enough he has to help me with my stuff every day."

"He'll be your aide for a while. You're both in the same class and competing in the concours, so I just saw it fit." The nurse scribbled something on a piece of paper before she handed it to Hana. "Give this to your teacher. It's a note explaining why you were late."

Hana sighed. There was no arguing with the nurse. She thanked the nurse before she wheeled herself out of the nurse's office. "Sorry to keep you waiting," Hana apologized to Yunoki. "It was just a really bad headache that came on suddenly. I'm fine," she lied.

Yunoki raised an eyebrow before he said, "Let's go." He wheeled her to where class 3-B was and both of them apologized for being late to class. The teacher introduced Hana to the class before he assigned Hana a seat next to Yunoki.

"Today is going just perfectly," Hana thought sarcastically to herself as she got out a notebook and pen to start taking notes. Her first day officially began.

* * *

When lunchtime arrived, Hana tried to get away from Yunoki. It wasn't that she didn't like him as a person; she didn't know him well enough to make that judgment. What she didn't like was that he had to be her aide and he was probably only doing it because he had to. He was probably getting some scholarship out of it or something.

Unfortunately, her luck ran out. Yunoki and what appeared to be a friend of his walked right up to her. Yunoki's friend, a boy, had short hair and wore the music department's uniform. "Mind if we join you?" the other boy asked.

Hana sighed. Clearly, there was no getting out of this one. "Sure," she said.

"Great." Yunoki and his friend both pulled up chairs and sat across from Hana. "I'm Hihara, Kazuki Hihara. You must be Hana Yamagi."

"Let me guess; the wheelchair gave me away."

"Actually, Yunoki told me he was acting as your aide and he wanted to have lunch with you to get to know you better." Yunoki nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "So, you're competing in the concours as well?"

"Yes," Hana replied.

"That makes three of us. I play the trumpet. By the way, I noticed you have an accent. Where are you from?"

"Kyoto. I just moved to the area over the summer. I live so close to the academy; you could probably walk from my house to get here."

"Why were you assigned an aide?"

"When did this turn into twenty questions? It's not your business." Hana abruptly took her food from the table and wheeled away.

Hihara and Yunoki looked at each other. "Was it something I said?" Hihara asked.

"You shouldn't ask such personal questions like that," Yunoki said. "She's barely starting to warm up to me, and any chance she had of warming up to you just got considerably smaller. It's bad enough she has to deal with people whispering behind her back about her wheelchair."

"You're right," Hihara sighed. "I just...for lack of better phrasing, what's wrong with her? Why is she in that wheelchair?"

"Even if knew, I wouldn't tell you. It isn't my place. I'm sure she'll tell us when she's ready." Yunoki looked at his watch. "She went back to the nurse's office for her afternoon medicine. I better go so that I can walk with her back to class." Yunoki walked away and left Hihara with more questions than answers. Why was Hana in the wheelchair? Why was she on medication? Hihara knew better than to ask her (or Yunoki, for that matter), but both were giving him more questions than answers.

* * *

Hana was in one of the many practice rooms the academy had after she got her afternoon medicine from the nurse. Yunoki followed behind her and waited for her, before she asked him to head back to homeroom without her so she could practice.

She practiced her flute until she heard a knock on the door which made her jolt in surprise. She looked through the window of the door and saw another boy. This boy was also from the music department, but he wasn't in her class. He had short blue hair and a cold demeanor. "Excuse me," the boy said in a tone void of emotion, "but I have this room reserved."

"Reserved?" Hana asked. The boy sighed as he explained the list of names that hung outside the door. "Oh," Hana realized. "I didn't realize that when I came in, and I must have lost track of time. I was practicing for the first selection, and I-"

"You're competing in the concours? By yourself? In that?" the boy asked incredulously as he gestured to the wheelchair. "And now they've started letting handicaps in. I wonder what's next; flying pigs?"

"Excuse me?"

"Whatever. You have no business in the music department, or in the concours, for that matter. My concern isn't for you, it's for the concours. Got it?" Hana nodded nervously. "Good. Get out. Don't you have an aide to find? Better yet, an accompanist?"

"I kind of-"

"I told you, I don't care. Leave." And with that, the boy pushed Hana's wheelchair out of the practice room and thrust her flute, case, and sheet music into her arms. He slammed the door shut.

"Well, this is going just perfectly," Hana said sarcastically to herself as she wheeled herself back to the homeroom. "My aide doesn't know what the meaning of 'personal space' is, his friend asks too many questions." She sighed. "That guy did have a point, though...I need an accompanist. The first selection is coming up. I don't know what I'll do if I can't find an accompanist." That's when Hana noticed something.

She hadn't heard a single word of what she just said to herself.

Hana raced back to the nurse's office as she struggled to hold back her tears. Students moved out of the way as the wheelchair went faster than it had ever gone before and was headed to the nurse's office.

Upon arrival, Hana burst into tears as the nurse asked, "Did it happen?" Hana raised an eyebrow in confusion. Sound was slowly starting to come back, but it was muffled. The nurse switched to sign language when she signed what she just said.

Hana nodded and wiped her tears. "I can hear a little bit now," she signed, "but it's muffled. Is this normal?"

"It just means that your condition is getting worse."

"What will I do about the concours? I can't keep having these spells."

"I know, I know. I'd talk to your doctor as soon as possible and have him adjust your medication. It's only treatment, though. It won't cure your condition. You will lose all your hearing at some point."

"When?"

"I don't know. It could happen today, it could happen in a week, a month, or even a year from now. Just enjoy sound while you can."

Sound was getting less muffled as Hana heard the air conditioner in the nurse's office clearly. "I can hear again," she said out loud. "This can't keep happening. I can't afford for anyone to find out that I..." Hana trailed off. She couldn't bear to say it.

"Would it be so bad if they did?" the nurse asked.

Hana nodded. "Some guy pushed me down onto the ground earlier today. I heard all these whispers the minute I arrived to the academy and the people were all pointing at my wheelchair. It's bad enough everyone knows I have an aide and am competing in the concours. If they knew about my condition...I'd hate to think about what could happen. I could get disqualified from the concours."

The nurse sighed. She was torn between explaining Hana's condition to the judges of the concours and her teachers, or keeping it a secret like Hana wished. However, Hana was of age, and it was up to her to make the decision. "Fine. I'll keep it a secret unless told otherwise. Is that okay?" Hana nodded. "Rough first day, I take it?"

"You have no idea."

* * *

 **A/N: So...what is Hana's condition? Any guesses? And don't say "it's obvious; it's a hearing problem." I made that much pretty clear. I'm taking suggestions for Hana should be paired with: either Yunoki, Tsukimori, or Tsuchiura. I'm leaning towards Yunoki or Tsukimori, but I want your thoughts! Reviews are love! ~k**


End file.
